ARMR27: Material Culture and Identities in the Roman Empire

Module code: ARMR27

Module provider: Archaeology; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor Hella Eckardt, email: h.eckardt@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of provincial Roman material culture and will focus in particular on the difficulties of combining the practical and theoretical aspects of artefact analysis. The key theoretical issue to be addressed is the relationship between the consumption of objects and the expression of social and cultural identities.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding and critical awareness of current approaches and theoretical models, informed by the latest academic literature on the subject
2. Apply some of these theoretical concepts creatively and with originality to bodies of data to develop independent interpretations through self-directed research
3. Demonstrate an ability to locate, extract and assemble data on selected artefacts in order to produce ‘catalogue entries’ with minimal guidance
4. Deal with complex issues and partial data (e.g. in the practical workshops) and communicate conclusions clearly

Module content

The module will examine the relationship between the consumption of objects and the expression of individual and group identities. We will cover topics such as ethnicity and regionality and investigates the ways in which objects are used to represent or stand for masculine and feminine identities. The module will also examine the movement and changing significances of objects both within a single culture and across different cultures using case studies based on food. Issues of reciprocity, trade, exchange and the culturally specific concepts of ‘necessity’ and ‘luxury’ will be explored. While the course will focus on Roman material culture, objects from other archaeological contexts and modern case studies will be considered.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Weekly illustrated lectures, practical workshops and small group seminars requiring preparatory reading and research. Students will write a brief catalogue entry for an archaeological object. Students are also required to make a more detailed study of a group of artefacts in essay form.

The module also aims to encourage students to build on both the theoretical and the practical awareness gained in undergraduate study. Practical and visual skills will be developed through workshops and a museum visit. Presentational skills will be enhanced through seminar-based discussions and reporting of individual study projects. Use of online materials will develop IT skills. The module will encourage the development of team-working and problem-solving skills and provide opportunities for self-directed study. 

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs